The invention relates to an armor penetrator and more particularly to a high velocity, tantalum-tungsten, armor penetrator and a method of making such a penetrator.
The standard U.S. Army anti-armor or armor penetrator material is a liquid phase sintered tungsten, iron nickel copper material, W, Fe, Ni, Cu, which is formed from blended powders that are isostatically pressed and sintered at elevated temperature to produce a fully dense material. The sintered material is then processed into a round bar of the appropriate diameter by any one or combination of standard metal working operations to form the desired armor penetrator which can vary in size from about 7.5 to 25 millimeters in diameter with a length to diameter ratio of about 15 to 20:1 depending on the application.
Improvements in potential enemy armor plating and tank design have necessitated improvements in the U.S. Army's anti armor material capability. To defeat the potential enemy's improved armor and tank design, higher launch velocities and improved penetrating capabilities are required. The higher launch velocities and improved penetrating requirements are beyond the capability of the current reference liquid phase sintered tungsten material M735. Materials with higher strength to withstand launch stresses are required along with maintaining high density and minimizing metallurgical interaction between the armor and the projectile.